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Mercedes has yet to confirm its driver lineup for 2013. The only thing certain is that Nico Rosberg is under a long-term contract. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Ross Brawn refuses to be drawn in by speculation that Lewis Hamilton could abandon McLaren and move to Mercedes next year.

Brawn said that no decision had been made on who will drive alongside Nico Rosberg, who has a multiyear contract with the team.

Inevitably, the idea that Michael Schumacher will stop at the end of this season is gathering momentum, although Brawn said nothing was clear yet.

“We don't comment on speculation, I'm afraid,” said Brawn. “So when we make our driver decision, then you'll be the first to hear about it. But it's still some way off.

“Coming to a conclusion on our driver situation will take some time still, and when we're there, we'll be very happy to share it with you. But we've still got some way to go.”

Brawn said that Schumacher's future plans are not yet clear.

“We're discussing things with Michael, and there's no panic in those discussions. That's what we're focused on at the moment.

“I don't think it's his [decision] alone, we've got to find a solution together. I can't honestly go into details, but it's not Michael's decision to stay. It's not our decision for him to stay. It's a joint decision.

“It could be tomorrow; it could be a month. We've got a lot of things we're discussing with him, and when we reach a conclusion, we'll be happy to share it with you. I can't set a timescale, I'm afraid.”

Asked specifically if he would like Schumacher to stay on, Brawn said: “I think Michael has a huge amount to offer. We saw his driving in Spa—a great performance in Spa that we didn't back up with as strong a car as we'd want. And he's had lots of performances like that this year.

“I'm very happy with Michael's performance. With these technical challenges that we're going to face particularly in 2014, someone of Michael's experience and caliber would be great asset to any team, but particularly our team.”

Regarding Hamilton, he said: “Lewis is a very good driver, an excellent driver.”

Brawn made the point that Mercedes should be a team that's capable of attracting the best drivers, whoever they might be.

“We want to be a team that every driver wants to drive for. We've got a tremendous history that we'd like to live up to. We haven't quite got there yet. I think the plans we're making, and the structure we're putting in pace, particularly with the changes in regulations that are coming over the next couple of years, we are very ambitious in what we want to achieve.

“If we achieve what we want to achieve, then we want to put ourselves in a position where every driver in F1 would consider driving for us. The last couple of years, Red Bull has been a team that's been very competitive, and most drivers want to have a Red Bull under them. We want to be in a situation where most drivers want to have a Mercedes under them, and that's what we're trying to do.”